The present invention relates to exterior storage and utility facilities for use with vehicles. More specifically, this invention relates to a containment system for recreational vehicles (such as travel trailers and motorhomes) which can be selectively located for optimal utility on the rear or sides of a vehicle without detachment from the vehicle while repositioning. This containment system is especially suited for holding and securing exterior kitchen applications.
Previously, various arrangement have been suggested for attaching containers or accessories to the exterior of a vehicle. In some arrangements, the item was removable from the vehicle by lifting the item off of a support structure, such as a latch or rail, and then stored within the vehicle or elsewhere. An example of this would be propane bar-b-que grills which are attached to the side of a travel trailer and coupled to a propane source when in use, and then detached from the trailer and the propane source for cleaning and/or storage elsewhere. While certainly useful for outdoor cooking, these items require the user to manually lift and carry the item and to visually align it with a support structure when coupling to the vehicle. Accordingly, such arrangements are of limited application when the item is heavier and/or when sufficient structural support for the item weight and/or size of the item requires more complicated alignment and/or coupling to the vehicle. Also, larger and heavier items require convenient storage locations when not in use.
Previously, larger containers and accessories have been attached to the rear of a vehicle for storage and have been removable for use. Example of this would be tool boxes or coolers mounted directly or indirectly to the hitch of a vehicle. These arrangements have often provided a convenient storage space, but they still require the user to manually lift the item out of or off of the hitch connection. Further, where direct connection is made to the vehicle hitch, the user is also required to align the connection components, often with visual impairment of the connection location, due to the size of the container, often while still manually holding or lifting the container. Indirect connection arrangements to the vehicle hitch often avoid the alignment difficulties, but at the expense of separate and additional structure, expense, and weight. Further, since many vehicle users desire to tow trailers with the hitch, use of the hitch for a container necessarily prevents concurrent towing. In addition, where the vehicle has a tailgate or rear ramp door, mounting a container to the hitch for either storage or use would block operation of the vehicle tailgate or ramp door.
Previously, it has been suggested to mount certain vehicle accessories, such as spare tires, on a swingable arm at the rear of the vehicle. Such arms are, for example, mounted to the side of the rear wall of the vehicle, over and/or under the rear lights, so that the tailgate can be raised and lowered when the arm is swung out of the way. They can also be mounted to the end portion of the vehicle bumper without attachment to the vehicle body. However, these arms are typically mounted via a single pivot point, intending a field of motion of 90 to 180 degrees at most. Typically, the pivot axis does not extend away from the vehicle past the plane of the vehicle side, so as to avoid reduction in aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle and/or to keep overall vehicle width from expanding. Further, in each of these arrangements, the accessory typically needs to be manually lifted from the support structure and carried by the user, in order to be used.
Previously, methods have been proposed for mounting various containers to a vehicle which allow the container to be accessed or used at various locations and orientations with respect to the vehicle by means of pivoting structures connected to a vehicle. However, these structures typically the require the container to be accessed only through its top surface, which is maintained in the same horizontal plane in all locations and orientations of container use. It is often desirable to access a container through one or more sides or its front face, especially where it would be advantageous to have the side or front face fold down to be a usable surface, and/or where the objects stored within the container tend to be heavy or bulky.
Also, previously, various structures have been proposed to allow for exterior kitchens and/or entertainment systems in recreational vehicles (“RVs”). Such kitchens can include sinks, stoves, refrigerators, and/or counter space for food preparation. Such entertainment systems can include televisions, video recording and playback devices, and various stereo music components. In certain instances, a slide-out box has been used having a self-contained kitchen or entertainment system which is accessible from the exterior of the recreational vehicle when the box is opened and/or extended from the vehicle. However, when the exterior kitchen or entertainment system is not being used, the slide-out box is, for example, retracted into the vehicle (to keep the appliances therein secure) and takes up floor space within the vehicle. Moreover, slide-out mechanisms tend to be expensive and require greater maintenance and installation work. In other instances, the kitchen or entertainment system is disposed in a compartment formed in the sidewall of the recreational vehicle, accessible through an exterior door or hatch. These are often less costly than a slide-out box arrangement, but still take up floor space in the recreational vehicle, both when being used and when not being used.
In each case, the floor space used by prior exterior kitchen or entertainment systems require careful planning and orientation with respect to the rest of the structure and function of the vehicle features. It is especially difficult, for example, to place such kitchen or entertainment system compartments at the rear of “toy hauler” types of travel trailers, due to “garage” width requirements. Moreover, unless the recreational vehicle was designed for the exterior kitchen or entertainment system at the outset, it is especially difficult to retrofit an exterior kitchen or entertainment system to pre-existing recreational vehicles using these prior arrangements.
In addition, recreational vehicles are typically used in a wide variety of applications with differing spacial and orientation constraints. For example, in a given campground, the vehicle may need to park with a significantly sloping surface on the side of the vehicle or with trees in close proximity to the vehicle side, making use of an exterior kitchen on that side undesirable. In those situations, the rear of the vehicle may be preferable for the exterior kitchen location, since presumably the vehicle was driven over a sufficiently level surface to come to that location. In other situations, inclement weather may make location of the exterior kitchen on the side of the vehicle, under an awning covering the vehicle door, more desirable than in an exposed rear location. Also, since bar-b-que grills are often used in connection with recreational vehicles, it is desirable to have exterior kitchens capable of a wide variety of facing orientations, in order to facilitate the cooking process in conjunction with grill use. Further, it is sometimes advantageous to allow exterior cooking components to be fully removable from the recreational vehicle, for use at a location more remote from the recreational vehicle and/or to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. Thus, an ideal exterior kitchen arrangement would be able to accommodate such changes in location. However, the prior slide-out and compartment formed arrangements typically allow only a single, fixed location of use.
Similar disadvantages and concerns arise when attempting to use other equipment and supply containment systems for recreational vehicles, such as tool boxes and specialty equipment storage and use. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved arrangements for exterior storage and use of containment systems for vehicles. More specifically, objectives of the present invention include providing exterior mounting of containers to vehicles which is:                a. less costly to manufacture, install, and/or to maintain,        b. more versatile in mounting location and available range of use locations,        c. readily adapted for use with RV exterior kitchens,        d. readily shifted for use at the rear and the side of a vehicle, without manual lifting,        e. capable of supporting significant loads for extended periods of time,        f. not an encumbrance to vehicle floor space, and        g. readily retrofitable to existing vehicles.        